Leo's 'Dalai Lama' Ploy Shocks Josh Amid Lame-Duck Ethics Clash
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo reveals the 'Dalai Lama ploy' strategy for the Ukrainian meeting, showcasing political maneuvering that shocks Josh.
Josh and Leo debate the ethics of pursuing the lame-duck session, revealing a potential defection among their allies.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Defiant solidarity crumbling to chastened efficiency
Margaret types Leo's memo two-fingered and glacially in outer office as OSHA protest solidarity, sasses Leo defiantly under interrogation, then meets his scowl and accelerates to rapid proper typing, restoring workflow.
- • Sustain assistants' slow-typing revolt against exemptions
- • Resume duties without further Leo ire
- • OSHA fairness binds even White House staff
- • Leo's glare enforces unbreakable hierarchy
Focused determination implied offscreen
Toby invoked by Josh and Leo as dispatched on urgent mission to sway Marino for treaty support, underscoring his frontline role in defection hunts.
- • Secure Marino's lame-duck vote commitment
- • Treaty ratification demands personal assaults on holdouts
- • Defections spell mission failure
Drunken persistence implied
Konanov referenced as drunken 'man who came to dinner' squatting Josh's office, desperate for Presidential access; becomes ruse target via Donna meeting for Bartlet drop-in.
- • Claim Presidential meeting boast
- • Bold intrusion yields diplomatic wins
- • Reformer chaos aligns with allies
Grudging loyalty inferred
Senator Marino dissected in Leo-Josh debate as vengeful street-kid target for Toby's plea, devoted to issue but risky for post-election sway amid potential 'our guy' loss.
- • Weigh revenge against treaty fealty
- • Personal grudges eclipse policy sometimes
- • Lame-duck votes tempt ethical lapses
Neutral historical exemplar
Dalai Lama cited by Leo as blueprint for ploy: low-level meet with open door for Presidential 'wander-by,' normalizing sly diplomacy.
- • Enable covert high-level contact
- • Accidental optics bypass protocol bans
Principled outrage yielding to scheming empowerment
Donna strides hallway past office, enters at Josh's call to champion OSHA ergonomics law preventing mass injuries, reels from exemption revelation with sarcasm, then embraces recruitment as Konanov 'beard' in hallway exchange, exiting empowered by reframed opportunity.
- • Defend OSHA equity against White House hypocrisy
- • Seize Konanov meeting as worker advocacy platform
- • Labor protections demand universal application
- • Insignificance to outsiders amplifies internal leverage
mentioned as target of Konanov's desire to meet 'accidentally' via ruse
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Leo's memo embodies administrative friction as Margaret pecks it out two-fingered in protest solidarity, drawing Leo's ire and scowl; accelerates post-rebuke, symbolizing crushed staff rebellion yielding to chain-of-command, fueling segue to crisis briefings.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
West Wing's outer and inner offices host OSHA typing revolt, Leo's scolding, Josh-Leo Konanov/Marino strategizing, and Donna's intrusion; hallway extension enables private Josh-Donna recruitment, pulsing with hierarchical tension and improvisational sparks.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
OSHA erupts as moral flashpoint through Donna and Margaret's slowdown protest against White House/Congress exemptions from ergonomics rules averting thousands of injuries, dismissed by Leo, catalyzing Donna's pivot to diplomatic 'opportunity.'
The White House looms as exempt policy actor in OSHA clash and diplomatic nerve center, where Leo orchestrates Konanov ruse and Marino pressure, embodying institutional hypocrisy fueling staff revolt while advancing treaty imperatives.
Ukrainian Government tangled in Konanov chaos as Josh begs embassy aid for squatter extraction; ploy circumvents by staging Donna meet, positioning erratic reformer for leveraged Presidential 'accident.'
West Wing staff cadre rebels via Donna-led typing sabotage in OSHA solidarity, crushed by Leo but repurposed as Josh recruits Donna for Konanov beard role, fusing mutiny into operational asset.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Leo's 'Dalai Lama ploy' strategy leads to Josh recruiting Donna as the 'beard' for the Ukrainian meeting."
"Leo's 'Dalai Lama ploy' strategy leads to Josh recruiting Donna as the 'beard' for the Ukrainian meeting."
"Margaret's slow typing as part of Donna's protest leads to Josh interrupting Leo’s office to reveal the Konanov situation."
"Margaret's slow typing as part of Donna's protest leads to Josh interrupting Leo’s office to reveal the Konanov situation."
"Donna's confrontation with Josh about OSHA ergonomics standards continues her persistent advocacy, leading to her later confrontation with Leo and Josh about workplace safety exemptions."
"Donna's confrontation with Josh about OSHA ergonomics standards continues her persistent advocacy, leading to her later confrontation with Leo and Josh about workplace safety exemptions."
"Leo's 'Dalai Lama ploy' strategy leads to Josh recruiting Donna as the 'beard' for the Ukrainian meeting."
"Leo's 'Dalai Lama ploy' strategy leads to Josh recruiting Donna as the 'beard' for the Ukrainian meeting."
"Margaret's slow typing as part of Donna's protest leads to Josh interrupting Leo’s office to reveal the Konanov situation."
"Margaret's slow typing as part of Donna's protest leads to Josh interrupting Leo’s office to reveal the Konanov situation."
Key Dialogue
"LEO: "When I was Labor secretary we did it with the Dalai Lama. Obviously Beijing doesn't want the President to have any diplomatic contact, so they arrange a low level meeting, keep the door open, the President wanders by, 'Hey, how ya doing, Dalai Lama.'" JOSH: "That's the most crazy ass thing I've ever heard." LEO: "It works.""
"LEO: "Continuing to exert influence after the people have voted you out is an ethically gray area for me." JOSH: "They're all ethically grey areas, Leo. Screw it!""
"LEO: "Also, we may have lost one of our guys." JOSH: "Who?""